Burger me! (Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser)

Member Name: Flibble

Product:	Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
Date:	18/06/02 (546 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to read, Stops you eating junk food

Disadvantages: none

Now, as my regular reader might remember I joined a gym a few months ago and going there, coupled with a healthier diet is starting to pay dividends for me. However, my willpower isn’t always the greatest – how many times have you driven past a KFC, Burger King or McDonalds and thought you’d pop in for a bite to eat?

I was determined to stop going to these fast food places however and so thought a purchase of ‘Fast Food Nation’ would help me no end. Written by Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation looks at the early beginnings, growth and success of McDonalds primarily (although he also looks at places such as Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut). It looks at all aspects of the industry, it’s workforce and methods and the impact it has had over the years on culture – in terms of eating, marketing, politics – everything really.

McDonalds really is a global phenomenon and this position allows the company to have a real stranglehold on every aspect of it’s suppliers – the book looks at how little money farmers actually receive as suppliers, it deals with the massive amount of profit the companies make on there sales and looks at the way staff are often treated by such companies.

Some of the facts and figures that are detailed are quite startling, take a chicken McNugget for example – I found it hard to believe that, per ounce, a chicken nugget will contain far more fat than a hamburger will! And I often thought chicken would have been the healthier choice to go for on the menu. Schlosser also takes us to the factories where many of the artificial flavourings and additives are created, I know that junk food isn’t exactly wholesome stuff, but when you read all the ingredients that go into a milkshake it’s really quite an eye-opener.

Written in an easy-to-read style, Schlossers’ book is an entertaining read, he meets up with the people who work for su
ch companies, as well as the suppliers. It deals with a few scientific details, but never in a dull or uninteresting manner. He tells us of the impact that the growth of such an industry has had on their lives and kind of puts you off eating in these places for life – so for that alone I would have to say it’s an essential buy.

It’s quite sad when you see all these little kids tucking into their Happy Meals and you think ‘you’ve got no idea what you’re putting in your mouth’ – I’m not a parent myself, but having read this I certainly wouldn’t let my kids eat in such restaurants. Of course I realise it’s an automated industry, but it’s the whole ‘manufactured’ process of the meals, it’s the low pay and high stress that the staff endure – the way it has ruined many of the farmers in America and lastly the sheer ‘junk’ that goes into this food that puts me off. Sure the products may be tasty, but once you read a chapter entitled ‘Why the fries taste so good’ it’ll stop and make you think.

Obviously the book is written with an American slant, and so many of the facts deal with American farmers, the America workforce and American law – it would have been interesting to read about the impact fast-food has had on the British diet, but this makes for a fascinating read nonetheless.

Fast Food Nation can be picked up from Amazon for a couple of pounds (I chucked it into my basket to help use up a voucher I had from DooYoo actually) and I would really urge you to invest in a copy. I’m sure that there are many parents who are reading this and who take their kids to fast food outlets as a treat now and again, but having read this book I ‘m sure you would reconsider this.

On the upside though, I’ve lost half a stone

Summary: